College Freshman’s Automated Dorm Room Has Party and Study Settings

In most college dorms, the most advanced pieces of technology consist of a George Foreman Grill and a glow-in-the-dark Bob Marley poster. Not so for UC Berkeley freshman Derek Low, creator of the Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm (BRAD).

Everything is rigged to work either through voice commands, wireless remote or an iOS app. He even installed a motion detector to flip on all of the lights and open the automated curtain whenever he gets in from class.

The most clever thing Low did was create different settings for different situations: “Sleep mode” turns everything off while “homework mode” turns on only his desk lamp. Then there’s “romantic mode.” Now, putting aside the fact that saying the words “romantic mode” in front of someone probably isn’t the smoothest move one can make, it’s still pretty cool, involving a disco ball, drawn curtains and Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

My personal favorite, however, is the big red party button, which should come standard-issue in every dorm room in America. Hit it and cloying pop music will start blasting, accompanied by strobe light flashes and ridiculous laser lights. All you need is a robot that says “So, what’s your major?” every five minutes and you have yourself a college party.

We’re going to go ahead and say that Low probably hasn’t hurt his chances at landing a great internship with this video, even if he’s driving his RA crazy.